It's Okay if You Jiggle a Little

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I used to think that because my legs weren’t

Twig thin

That I was ugly

That no boy would ever find me

Beautiful enough to touch

That no girl would ever think

I was prettier than she was

Because surely the girl with

Thunder Thighs

Would never be prettier than anyone.

 

I used to wear shorts in the pool

Because I didn’t want anyone

To look at me and think

“That 11 year old girl is huge!”

I used to wear t-shirts to the beach

Because I hated that I developed breasts

Long before all of my friends.

 

I was afraid to run in front of boys at school

Even though I loved to race

And I knew I could compete with them

Because I didn’t want them to see

How my elementary school stomach

Jiggled under my t-shirts.

 

I distinctly remember feeling

Incredibly petrified and utterly disgusted

With myself

When one day my friend told me

I was the fat one.

 

It’s taken me 18 years

To realize

That I am not fat.

I am not fat.

I am not ugly.

I am normal.

My thighs are no bigger than they should be.

My stomach is the way it should be.

My breasts are the way they should be.

There is no need to hide

From my own body

When all my body has ever done

Is love and protect me

From the ugliness of the world.

 

I am the way I am because I am meant to be that way.

I am more than just the sum of my parts;

I am more than a number, a measurement

Or a cup size.

I am a loving sister, daughter, friend.

I am a dedicated student,

An intelligent member of an ever growing society

Of people who need to realize

That a body is a shell

Which encases all that a person is,

But is not the only part of a person

That matters.

I am me,

And there is nothing about me

That isn’t perfect

Just the way it is. 

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